Kitchen Design Question

[sicinius]

I still can't have it on the kitchen worktops, but I can design design a dresser to take the Zaffiro and the 2 grinders for the adjacent utility room.

Any tips?

Also I can't help noticing that Iberitel Annas have become rather popular in here.

If I could get over having to live like a penniless caveman for the next ten years, should I bite the bullet and upgrade to a plumbed in machine.

[dr.chris]

The 1 group Anna isnt a plumbed in machine - and doesnt have a very big tank sadly. As for its popularity I blame Cakey.

[bruceb]

As to designing a cabinet, opt for as much work space as you can possibly get and if possible an enclosed storage space with a door and above it a drawer for small items like spoons, etc. Also, make sure the height is comfortable for you to work at and make it very sturdy. Some kind of built-in knock box is very nice if you have the room for it.

The standard upgrade is always to a plumbed-in machine. Having to refill a water tank in the middle of making coffee for guests is almost as unpleasant as having to empty the drip tray. It seems evident that at some point you are going to want to go this direction. I'm not sure, but I think there is a conversion kit for l'Anna.

[Beanie]

Build a PF cradle/holder (to steady it for a level tamp) onto the knock-box/hole bar... and have this right in front of the grinder. Keeps surface clean, rather easily

[motoman]

You need a very firmly based cabinet to counter the high centre of gravity. A decent machine and grinder weight around 30Kg fully loaded and that lot on a rickety box top spell disaster and electrical mahem if it tips.

Not having it plummed in means you have the advantage of using a water filter for filling instead of expensive filtration built in to the mains.

Main disadvantages are transporting water too and from the machine. The same applies to having to carry bits to the kitched for cleaning. A bucket and a jug can solve the first bit but it will become a pain in the arse every time you need a drink.

My kitchen is tiny with a solid oak beam cunningly designed to crack my skull across the middle. When my son visited me I found him on the kitchen floor wondering what day it was.

All this just to say that you can work around it, I quickly got used to the small space and I have to keep it tidy as there is no room for rubbish.

[dr.chris]

Anna is a big girl - she weighs in at 38kg (not sure if that includes the water or not - if it does then thats another 3 or 4kg right there) Sadly the kitchen worktop now sags a little and shutting the doors underneath is a little harder than it used to be. Grinder is an MC2 so that isnt such a problem

[GreenBean]

I still can't have it on the kitchen worktops, but I can design design a dresser to take the Zaffiro and the 2 grinders for the adjacent utility room.

Any tips? ...

How about turning the utility room into a kitchen and remodelling the kitchen as a coffee room.

[bruceb]

Why do you need a a kitchen, anyway?

[sicinius]

Why do you need a a kitchen, anyway?

This is the kind of thinking I really like.

The answer I would give you right now is that it is keeping some third world economy going judging by the number of people employed and the size of the bills that are coming in.

Love the idea of the hole in the worktop into the knock box. That's a keeper. Presumably I'll need a circular upstand round the hole to knock the portafilter without knocking my knuckles. The worktop is 40mm iroko and beyond sturdy. It's actually not a dresser but a shallow cupboard, sitting on a 500 mm deep worktop about 450mm wide with a row of four small drawers under the work surface one of which is a waste box.

All I needed was a little push not to go for a plumbed in machine, so thanks for that but when the mem sahib isn't looking I'm going to drill a hole through the wall behind the cabinet, come through just above the Zaffiro and put a microbore water supply with a little tap just above the reservoir. Not quite plumbed in but close.

I will post a photo when I'm done.

Meanwhile if the lads in Catford who have my Orchestro and gave me a bag of flipping excellent beans as a reward could put their hands up (as their details are lost in the builder's rubble), I'd like to buy some more as they make brilliant French press coffee and that's all I can get atm.

[GeorgeW]

Whatever you do, do not forget a roomy cupboard with a stout, lockable door. You will find this essential if good marital relations are to be maintained. This year I'll have been married for fifty years and I put this all down to having this valuable resource. My Lady-wife being ensconced behind a stout door, means that I can easily hear the second crack without the disconcerting clack of her knitting needles or the sound of her chewing tobacco.

[sicinius]

But how do you get your cooking and washing done? I have fitted shackles to the stone floor between the sink and the cooker.